Blogging about what I'm cooking. Not as much deep-fried stuff anymore, but hey, it's a catchy name.

October 2012

I tried a version of this recipe a few weeks ago with a blade roast, and while it was good, it wasn't the right cut of pork and I knew it could be better. Today was the perfect day to try it again, as we spent a few hours picking apples and broccoli at a local farm so I had fresher ingredients than I've ever used before. I know the broccoli is just a side here (and it was just quickly steamed in a microwave steamer bag), but this was the best broccoli I've ever had in my life. I cut it probably 3 hours before I served it, doesn't get much fresher than that! Overall, this is another really simple pressure cooker dish, and I'll definitely be making it again.

Pressure Cooker Pork TenderloinIngredients:

1 whole pork tenderloin, cut in half

Salt, pepper, and garlic powder

1 onion, chopped

1 sweet apple and 1 tart apple, chopped

3 cups apple juice

1-2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

2 Tablespoons corn starch

Directions:

In the pressure cooker pot, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat.

Season the tenderloin on all sides with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.

Brown the tenderloin on all sides, then remove from pot.

Add apple juice to pot and turn heat to high.

Place steamer basket in pot and put browned tenderloin, apple, and onion in the pot. Cover, seal, and bring to high pressure (15 psi).

Mix corn starch with cold water, then stir into sauce. Cook over medium-high heat until sauce thickens, then serve!

Notes:I might increase the apple juice to 4 cups next time, this sauce was amazing. I'm not saying Sarah licked her plate clean, but I'm also not saying she didn't.For the apples, I used one Granny Smith and one Fuji.The apples and onions almost dissolve when they're cooked under pressure. Here's what it looked like when I took the basket out of the pressure cooker:

I know, I know. Another pressure cooker recipe. But it's a fun new gadget in my kitchen, and when it only takes a few minutes of active time, it's hard to beat for cooking a good dinner while juggling the kids at dinner time. This is almost too simple of a recipe, but it works nicely and gives us a dinner that we've enjoyed a couple times already. I found this recipe at a site that has several good quick pressure cooker recipes, hope you like it!

Chicken CacciatoreIngredients:

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes

3 Tablespoons vegetable oil

¼ cup chicken stock

1 cup white cooking wine or dry vermouth

16 ounces sliced mushrooms

1 large onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 small bunch fresh basil

1 small can (5.5 oz) tomato paste

½ teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

In the pressure cooker, add 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and saute mushrooms over medium-high heat until they release most of their water and start to brown, 8-10 minutes.

Add remaining vegetable oil and brown the chicken for approximately 5 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Lock the lid in place and bring to pressure (15 psi), then lower heat and cook for 9 minutes.

Release pressure and remove the lid. Add salt and pepper and serve with pasta, preferably spaghetti.

Notes:You don't have to saute the mushrooms first, but I do because we like the flavor of them better once they've been browned a bit.

One of the first things I made in my pressure cooker was beef stew, but it was extremely simple (probably TOO simple), and I felt like it was missing something. I decided to try again tonight, and the result was amazing. This is by far the best beef stew I've ever made. Everything was tender, the flavors blended really well, and since it's cooked in the pressure cooker, it didn't take long at all. The only problem I had was that I slightly overfilled the pressure cooker (past the fill line) because I was too lazy to move everything to the bigger pot I had, so it sprayed a tiny bit of the juice/gravy/sauce out when I released the steam. Not a huge amount, just enough to remind me not to be lazy next time.

Cook until mushrooms start to release their water and brown, about 8 minutes.

Add onions, and cook until onions are transluscent. Put onions and mushrooms in a bowl and set aside.

Add remaining oil and brown the beef on all sides.

Add stock and scrape the bottom, getting all browned bits.

Return onions and mushrooms to the pot, and add all remaining ingredients except for corn starch. Stir and cover.

Bring to high pressure (15 psi), lower heat to just maintain pressure, and cook for 9 minutes.

Release pressure and remove lid. Mix corn starch with 2 tablespoons of cold water, then add to pot. Stir well and cook over medium-high heat until sauce starts to thicken.

Notes:If you don't have a pressure cooker, you could do this in a slow cooker
as well, it would just take several hours of cooking instead of a few
minutes. Picture was taken with my phone instead of my normal camera!